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The Senate will vote to codify same-sex marriage rights this week—The misnamed Respect for Marriage Act would erase the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that preserved man-woman marriage at the state and federal levels before it was rendered totally inoperative by the Supreme Court’s Obergefell and Windsor decisions. Congress should not double down on the Supreme Court’s mistake, especially when the only practical effect of the bill would be to put a giant target on the backs of people and institutions of faith. To be clear, there is no risk of any legally married same-sex couple losing any of their benefits or legal status. So the only reason to add Congress’ explicit blessing for such unions now is to cement same-sex marriage as national policy that can be used as a club by government agencies, such as the IRS, to deny traditional religious institutions tax-exempt status, licenses to assist in adoptions, and government funding and contracts. Worse still, the Respect for Marriage Act would create a roving license for private parties to sue anyone who arguably is acting “under color of law” when providing government-funded or -regulated family services such as adoption and foster care. Heritage Experts: Roger Severino and Jay Richards
The Biden-Xi Meeting – Washington should recognize that other countries are more susceptible to Chinese economic coercion than the United States and take greater risks when publicly opposing Beijing. Other nations’ willingness to go along will depend in part on their perception of how firmly the United States is standing behind them. The time for U.S. leadership is now. Thanks to Xi’s overreach, international audiences are more receptive than ever. Biden’s comments that there is no threat to Taiwan is just more confusion to his own past statements the US would defend Taiwan from a Chinese attack as well as his own National Security Strategy release just last month. The expectation of Xi-Biden summit is not to expect anything. Heritage Experts: Brent Sadler, Michael Cunningham, and Dustin Carmack
Biden student debt relief handout blocked by federal appeals court - The Biden Administration acted illegally when it unilaterally tried to cancel billions of dollars in student loans. The Department of Education circumvented Congress by making such a major unauthorized decision that harms state interests. Now two federal courts have put a stop to this blatant abuse of power. Heritage Expert: Adam Kissel
Slaying the inflation dragon – The next Congress needs to slay the beast of inflation. While that is a simple, straightforward task, it is not for the weak-willed. Once let out of Pandora’s box, inflation does not go quietly. The winning formula has three parts: Spend less, drill more and liberate capital. These are the sword, shield and steed Congress must take into battle. The primary weapon of the next Congress is their power of the purse. Today’s inflation is ultimately driven by excessive government spending. Cutting that spending will reduce inflation. Heritage Expert: EJ Antoni
Education choice supporters win big in 2022 midterm elections – Proponents of empowering parents with education choice should feel encouraged by the outcome of the midterm elections. States that went big on choice policies in the last two years overwhelmingly re-elected the policymakers who made it happen. Opponents of education choice have long claimed that choice policies were politically unpopular. Despite polls showing high levels of public support, opponents like the teachers unions were better organized and well-funded. When they threatened politicians with electoral consequences for supporting choice policies, that was often sufficient to push fence-sitters into voting against empowering families with education choice. But the lesson from the midterms for lawmakers inclined to support education choice is clear: Be not afraid! Heritage Experts: Jason Bedrick and Lindsey Burke
The U.S. Navy Must Grow to Confront China (But We Must Study Past Sins) - As the Navy considers new submarine and destroyer designs, appropriate design, industrial base and acquisition processes to reduce cost and delivery risk should be the theme. Thankfully, that appears to be the Navy’s focus on incremental improvements in these new ship designs. As Ohio-class submarines, Ticonderoga-class cruisers, and other Cold War-era ships reach end-of-life, the urgency for building these new ships is real. But it is critical that the lessons of Ford, Zumwalt, P-8 and, most importantly, the LCS are not forgotten. As the threat from China sharpens, there is no time left for repeating past errors in shipbuilding. Accountability for those mistakes is long overdue. However, the U.S. Navy and Congress must exorcise the ghosts of these failures, while growing the fleet today. Heritage Expert: Brent Sadler
As border crisis continues, where should migrants go? - With Biden’s Open Windows border policies, more are going to come. The administration’s immigration policy team reportedly is planning a new program to allow ordinary American citizens or even temporary residents to sponsor refugees — all while making no effort to re-install the Migrant Protection Protocols or use Title 42 to reduce demand. Meanwhile, what about integrating and settling refugees successfully in our communities? What cities and towns are going to be able to sustain this unprecedented, relentless inflow of needy people, as we head into economic recession? Will the federal government borrow to pay for it indefinitely? Having let in a record number of illegal immigrants, even the Biden administration knows that not all will be granted asylum and many have to be deported. What’s their enforcement strategy? Heritage Expert: Simon Hankinson
How Cultural Marxism Threatens the United States—and How Americans Can Fight It - The United States has successfully confronted Marxist attempts to derail it from its historic path of liberty and order. The multifaceted effort to defeat the enemy, generally referred to as the Cold War, concentrated many of the best minds in the country. In 1991, when the Soviet Union dissolved, many Americans and others around the globe justifiably believed that communism had been defeated. However, American Marxists, making use of the complacency that victory often produces, have gained more influence than ever before. Cloaking their goals under the pretense of social justice, they now seek to dismantle the foundations of the American republic by rewriting history; reintroducing racism; creating privileged classes; and determining what can be said in public discourse, the military, and houses of worship. Unless Marxist thought is defeated again, today’s cultural Marxists will achieve what the Soviet Union never could: the subjugation of the United States to a totalitarian, soul-destroying ideology. Heritage Expert: Mike Gonzalez